


Stay Alive

by QuestionsOfScience



Category: Red Queen Series - Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, Inspired by Hamilton, Sad, Song: It's Quiet Uptown, Song: Stay Alive (Reprise)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25810267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuestionsOfScience/pseuds/QuestionsOfScience
Summary: What if Maven died when he was at the front?
Relationships: Tiberias Calore VI/Elara Merandus
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Stay Alive

**Author's Note:**

> Yes this is heavily inspired by Hamilton.  
> Song inspiration links:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LrxaZ8Sm7s  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD6lRjs66iw&list=PLE6bZHECmRE5TIE_BnNjKLBLVFPcCRAPM&index=2&t=0s  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thFXSNSO9xQ

Everyone around him was panicked but all he could focus on was the silver blood coating his fingertips as he held a cloth over the gunshot wound. They had been ambushed by the damn lakelanders, and now no one could save him. Also, where was his brother? Had mother and father been notified about the ambush? Would they care that he had been shot straight through his ribs and the bullet had gotten stuck in his spine? Maven felt like sleeping for a thousand years but only the pain kept him awake, every time he would go to close his eyes someone would pinch him or force him awake. He knows he shouldn’t try and sleep but it was too much…

“Mavey! Mavey! Please wake up!” His brothers voice shook him awake. Cal had both silver and red blood on him, covering him from almost head to toe, he couldn’t tell if it was his or not.

“Cal… I can’t-” He coughs blood, “Feel my legs.” Cal wipes his brothers mouth and chin, holding his face in his hands.

“It’s ok Mavey, healers are on the way.” That was a lie and Maven knew it. All the available healers had been killed in the ambush.

“Does father know?” Cal nods, tears rolling down his face.

“I don’t know if he knows about you though.” Cal places his hands over the wound, trying to apply pressure. 

“I’m going to die.” 

“Don’t think like that Mavey…”

“Cal I’m not stupid.” He grasps Cals hand, now covered in his blood.

He feels his eyes slowly close. All his senses feel like they’re dimming. His brother is yelling something, he can’t tell what it is. He doesn’t feel sad, he feels calm. He feels no pain. 

“MAVEN!” He hears his name being yelled, its the only thing he can register. It’s not his brothers voice or a doctors but… His father?  
He manages to open his eyes just a bit.

“Dad?” He doesn’t call him father, his chest hurts and he feels as if he’s choking.

“Maven?” His father is next to him, “Are you alright?” His cough of blood seems to be an answer enough.

“W-wheres-” cough “Mom?” 

“She’s on her way.” His fathers hands are holding the cloth covering the wound. He didn’t seem to pay any attention to Cal and if he did, Maven didn’t notice it.

He wants to shut his eyes.  
He wants to sleep again.  
Forever.

His father and brother don’t say anything except for the occasional “It’s okay” or “Stay awake.”  
Almost half an hour passes before they all hear:

“Where is my son!?”  
From Elara, who had finally arrived.

“Elara!” Tiberius calls out. Elara runs in, over to Maven’s side. She shoves her husband out of the way. 

“Mom…” Maven reaches for her and she presses his hand to her face. He takes note of her appearance, her hair isn’t in an intricate updo but instead is in a low ponytail. She doesn’t have any makeup on. She looks as if she was about to get ready for the day. Her dress isn’t anything fancy, just a plain blue bodice dress.

“Mavey… What happened? Who did this?” She asks, holding onto him.

“Lakelanders.” Cal answers.

Maven brushes Elaras hair with his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

His eyes closed.

“I’m sorry.” His arm went limp. He couldn’t breathe. “I love you. I’m sorry.” He could hear his mothers crying and feels her hand on his cheek. His brothers was holding his head up and his father held his hand. His mother held him and kept a hand on his cheek The last thing he heard was his mother yelling at his father.

“What have you done!?”

And then silence.

Because at nine o’clock in the morning, Maven Calore died.


	2. That would be enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he writes her letters but is not sure if she reads them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was gonna be longer but im cutting it sown for my google docs organisations sake

  
The funeral was in a few days. The entire court had been wearing black mourning clothes, and all the curtains have shut to signify a death as per tradition.   
Cal is being extra guarded in case the Lakelanders decide now would be a great time to attack.   
Anabel had come back to the palace to comfort her son and grandson in their time of despair, she didn’t seem to care about Elara. On the topic of Elara, no one had seen her since they had returned, they knew she was in her room an according to servants, she had not been eating or taking care of herself. She hadn’t been getting out of bed. The king had started writing notes and sending them with her food.   
They had started as long notes, almost letters.   
  
**_Elara,_ _  
_ _I know your grieving, we all are. I can’t imagine how you feel. I know Maven was everything to you and I know there is no replacing what we’ve lost, and you need time. It is an unimaginable pain, I know. Please take care of yourself. If I could spare his life, trade his life for mine, he would be here right now and you would smile and that would be enough. Just let me stay by your side._ _  
_ _That would be enough._ _  
_ _\- T.Calore_ _  
_ **   
But they eventually went to small letters of few words.   
  
**_My dearest Elara,_ _  
_ _  
_ _Please eat._ _  
_ _  
_ _Love Tiberias._ _  
_ ** _  
_ He didn’t know is she even read them. _  
_ He even wrote to her family, praying that they knew how to help her.   
  
**_House Merandus,_ _  
_ _It is with much sadness and despair that I must inform you that My and Elara’s dear son, Maven, has been killed in an ambush by those wretch lakelanders and it is with much regret that I inform you that Elara is in much of an ill state. She barely eats or sleeps in between weeping spells, and it breaks my heart to see her in such a state. I hate to say it this way, but there is no other way to phrase it, if you know of a way to snap her out of this state, please let me know._ _  
_ _-King Tiberias VI_ ** _  
  
_

They didn’t know and frankly didn’t care.  
  
-  
  
“Leave her and let her sulk.” Anabel had said.   
  
“Sulk? Her son’s dead!?” Cal had replied.   
  
“I’m not saying she’s not allowed to mourn but she the queen she should conduct herself accordingly.” Anabel had countered. They had sat in silence for the rest of their meal, silent anger having filled the room.   
  
-  
  
He opened the door to his wife’s bedroom, the light from the hallway being the only source of light. He saw her figure in her bed, not moving apart from the rise and fall of her chest. He walks over and sits in a chair facing her bed. He takes her hand.   
  
“Elara please…”   
  
He looks at her sad face. Her cheeks are hollow, and her eyes have bruise-like circles around them. She doesn’t look at him. She just stares at the ceiling. He kisses her knuckle. She glances at him from the corner of her eye. He sighs and gets up to leave. She wasn’t going to come around today.   



	3. Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The funeral happens and blame is shifted

The funeral took place with only close family and friends in attendance. It was not live for the country like the kings would have been, but the Royal family did not want to share their grief with the world. Instead, Tiberias made an announcement, but that was it.    
  
He would be lying if he said that it was surprising that Elara attended, he thought she would be to upset even to see Maven’s body burned. He wasn’t lying when he said that the sight of her broke his heart, her usually bright eyes, her sons’ eyes, now made her seem as if she was millions of miles away. No amount of makeup could hide her hollow cheeks. She had broke down upon seeing his body, her precious Maven. Elara had almost collapsed and could barely walk properly in her grief.   
  
All of this had been shocking and heartbreaking but what seemed to be the most surprising thing that happened was that when Elara cried her heart out, Cal had held her, offering her comfort.   
Everyone knew that Cal blamed himself for Mavens death, that he should have been there to protect his baby brother. Elara also blamed herself, saying she should have stopped him from going to the front. Maybe that’s why Elara didn’t push him away when he wrapped his jacket around her and hugged her close to him.   
Despite all this, no one blamed themselves more than Tiberias. He blamed himself every day that he shouldn’t have sent Maven, that maven was far too young to fight and that he should have listened when nobles from the other high houses criticised him for sending the child prince to fight. Still, he didn’t look, too confident that he would win, also convinced that nothing wrong would happen. Oh, how he was so wrong.   
  
\---   
  
They had decided to eat dinner together as a family. Anabel had left earlier, just after the funeral. Elara, Cal and Tiberias sat around a table much smaller than the one that they ate at when court was present. The table was small enough to be intimate but big enough for personal space. Cal just picked at his food, Elara didn’t eat any of hers. The king placed his hand on his wives palm.    
  
“Elara dear, please eat something.”    
  
Elara didn’t look at him, just stared at her plate. He wasn’t going to force her to do anything. They ate in silence for the rest of the meal and by the end, Elara had already retired to her rooms, to lie there at stare at nothing.   
  
“Take her to the gardens tomorrow?” Cal suggested, reading his fathers expression from across the table.   
  
“Do you think she would like that?” The king asked.   
  
“She and Maven used to spend a lot of time there together, maybe it will help.” Cal was tired, they all were but if he thought it would help his stepmother with her grief then it was worth a shot.   
  
“Will you join us?”   
  
Cal shook his head. “I don’t think I can. I’m exhausted and I miss my brother… I don’t think going out tomorrow will help.” Cal knew what he said didn’t exactly make much sense but he was practically falling asleep at the table.   
  
“I guess it’s worth a shot...”


	4. Can you imagine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> final chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was going to make this better but I want to move onto other stuff and I want to work on other stuff

It didn’t take much convincing to get her to join him considering her state, she didn’t look at him the entire way there and she didn’t say anything. The Archeon gardens were on the upper side of the city and hadn’t been visited for a while and it was pretty obvious.    
He stayed by her side as they walked down the street, it was long after dark and the capital city seemed different in the moonlight. Tiberias had walked this road so many times over the past few weeks, just to return to the palace gardens. He was glad Elara had joined him, finally leaving her chambers.    
  
“Maven always liked it here, uptown I mean. It’s quiet uptown. He always liked the quiet.”    
  
“How would you know you never bothered to join us?” Elara sneered. He didn’t reply, just looked at her with a regret-filled gaze.    
  
“...”   
  
More tears slipped down her face and Tibe questioned whether he should have said something anyway.   
  
“Your right though,” He continued to look at her, “He did like quiet.” She smiled sadly as if remembering a fond memory. She twisted her wedding band on her finger and he looked down at his.  _ 15 years. _ The plain gold ring has been on his finger for 15 years and beside it sits a second one, Coriane’s ring.    
He remembers the day he met Coriane, and he remembers the day she died. Both of those days ruined him, for good and for bad. She gave him everything, she gave him Cal and a crazy fantasy that one day they could live a normal life, maybe when Cal had grown up and married and taken over as king and they could go live somewhere in peace, but of course, life has a funny way of doing things. He remembers being told she had died, that she had taken her own life and they found her in a bathtub surrounded by dark bloody water and cuts marring her arms and legs. It had caused him so much pain and grief, The only thing that kept him alive was Cal, his son, he wouldn’t let him grow up without his parents.    
Not long after he had to marry again so they just picked the girl destined to win the queenstial, Elara, and they had Maven and everything had been calm. He never really cared for Elara, or Maven, but they were still his family. He missed Maven more than he thought he could and he hated seeing Elara grieving. Tiberias had no one when Coriane died and it destroyed him, he knows firsthand what a death can do to a person, he wouldn’t let that happen to Elara.

  
He plucked a flower and tucked it behind her ear. She smiled softly and fiddled with it. They walked in silence through the gardens, not saying much. Eventually, they stopped by a plethora of roses.   
  
Elara cried some more, Tibe moved closer and took her hand in his, she didn’t seem to mind and if she did she didn’t express it. He held her closer and snaked his other arm around her waist.   
  
“It will be okay.” He whispered, over and over, saying the words he wished someone had told him, “I promise.”    
  
“No it won’t…” She started, he cut her off   
  
“It will, I swear it will. When Coriane died… I had no one to tell me these things, I know how you feel and I know how much it hurt, I won’t let you go through this alone.”   
  
Suddenly her face darkened, more tears streamed down her face, guilt marring her face.   
  
“Oh…. Oh colours… No, you- you can’t- ” He cut her off by rubbing her bottom lip with his thumb.   
  
“Yes, I can-”   
  
“No… Oh colours this- You don’t know…” she was crying harder now.   
  
“Know what?” He whispered   
  
“About what really happened to Coriane…” This silenced him, what was she on about? He knew Cori never really like Elara and Elara definitely didn’t like Cori but they had never really had any conflict.   
  
“What are you on about?”   
  
“I- I made her kill herself.”   
  
“What do you mean?” He didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t get angry, he just wanted answers, he used a tone he used with Cal so many times before, trying to get him to confess to breaking a vase.   
  
“I- I wanted to be queen consort so badly, when you announced that the queenstrial wouldn’t take place my father was furious and convinced me it was a good idea, I wanted to impress him, he never-” She took a deep breath, “he never… he always said I wasn’t good enough. And whenever I failed he treated me like I wasn’t his daughter. It wasn’t just my father, my mother too. I did it so they would… I don’t know.”    
  
Was she making excuses? He couldn’t tell.   
  
“You killed her…. So your parents would… Love you?”   
  
She nodded   
  
“It didn’t work did it?” She started up at him, he guessed correctly, of course, she nodded. He took her hand and held her close.   
  
“What you did was unforgivable but… Maven was just like you. That’s why you cared about him so fiercely, you didn’t want him to feel how you did. I should have been a better father… I won’t ever forgive myself for that. I don’t doubt you don’t regret killing…” He don’t say her name, “But we all do things to impress people, some more extreme than others, I wish you had told me earlier. We’ve both lost the people we’ve loved, I won’t let you fall into some sort of depression. I promise.”   
  
She smiled sadly, “Let’s go home.”   



End file.
